The government is framing a new law to deal with acts of piracy and other complicated issues on the high seas. This follows the spurt in piracy and hostage taking off the coast of Somalia and the absence of an exclusive Indian law dealing with piracy.
Another impetus was the Supreme Court asking the Centre to come out with a comprehensive law and to ensure that families of victims in cases such as that of a ship missing since 2005 get adequate compensation in time.
Presently several sections in the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) define piracy and there is a need to adopt a domestic law on the subject, officials drawn from the Ministries of External Affairs and Shipping besides the Indian Navy and Directorate-General of Shipping. In India, piracy issues are tackled by the provisions of Indian Penal Code and the Admiralty law. “UNCLOS Sections 101 to 107 need to be enacted in a legislation to empower nations,'' official sources said.
At present countries try to invoke jurisdiction under laws and customary international laws but the proposed legislation would be more effective and stringent and in harmony with international laws. “Right now there is no definition of piracy in Indian laws. We have provisions but domestic legislation will have elements of both [IPC and the Admiralty Law] that will make it focussed, effective, easier to tackle these issues.''
Officials said, normally the ship owners enter into negotiations with the pirates in the interest of their sailors and the merchandise they carry. The pirates also generally do not harm the hostages in their own interest of securing their ransom.
The officials wanted the media not to sensationalise the issue because it gives a handle to the pirates to raise their ransom demands. “Negotiations are done quietly and only quiet efforts would yield best results, they contended. There is an insurance against ransom demands and it is a best kept secret. The moment the fact of insurance is made public, the insurance becomes invalid.”
“You must also understand that pirates are not terrorists. Their sole purpose is to earn money and would not like to kill captives. This is their standard practice. In fact before the ransom is handed over, all hostages are paraded on the deck and a helicopter flying overhead takes their photos and transmits to the ship owner. After the owner is convinced that all of them are safe, the ransom amount is dropped by another helicopter,” explained the sources.
The sources said, so far only one Indian has been reported killed by Somali pirates. “That usually happens when pirates board the ship while firing rocket propelled grenades. A crew member gets hit if he comes in the line of fire,” they added.
India was also in touch the Contact Group on Piracy on Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) to coordinate action on piracy and also in the U.N. Security Council, which has a resolution against piracy. The sources clarified that the international trust fund set by the CGPCS is utilised to defray expenses incurred by countries to prosecute suspected pirates and step up capacity building in littoral states and not for paying ransom.
